RIM Launches BlackBerry World Ahead of BB 10 Unveiling

In what appears to be more preparation for the Jan. 31 unveiling of BlackBerry 10, RIM today took the wraps off a redesign app store called BlackBerry World, previously known as BlackBerry App World.

The changes are being rolled out in stages. In the coming weeks, BlackBerry customers will also see the new name on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, followed by BlackBerry smartphones.

The new BlackBerry World storefront offers a more streamlined user interface, which includes a carousel that highlights new apps in various categories.

Apps and games now have their own channels, and each one offers up a range of categories. Customers can now share apps with their friends over BBM, Facebook and Twitter or NFC-capable BlackBerry device can tap their smartphones together and invite them to download an app.

RIM stock have risen significantly recently, ahead of the company's planned unveiling of new BlackBerry 10 devices at the end of the month. Shares of the Candian OEM were up 6 percent last Friday to $15.84. Markets were closed Monday in observation of Martin Luther King day.

In what appears to be more preparation for the Jan. 31 unveiling of BlackBerry 10, RIM today took the wraps off a redesign app store called BlackBerry World, previously known as BlackBerry App World. The changes are being rolled out in stages...